https://douglassboyle.com/Recent content on Douglass Boyle CapitalHugoen-usFri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://douglassboyle.com/writing/what-a-search-actually-looks-like/Fri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://douglassboyle.com/writing/what-a-search-actually-looks-like/<p>Most writing about buying a small business skips the part that takes the longest.</p> <p>The deal work is real and it matters, but it is a small share of the calendar. The bulk of a search is building a list of companies that fit, finding who actually owns each one, and then calling them. Repeatedly. Most calls go nowhere. Some go somewhere two years later.</p> <p>That is the job. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.</p>